Combined connector and rectifier



Dec. 16. 1969 a. BERNSTEIN ET AL COMBINED CONNECTOR AND RECTIFIER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20. 1966 FIG.2

36 30 34 2a lllll w 25 24 as v FIGS BERNARD BERNSTEIN ROBERT V. SUCHMANNIWTORNEV$ Dec. l6, 1969 .B.BERNSTVEIN ETAL 3,484,864

COMBINED CONNECTOR AND'REGTIFIER" Filed Oct. 20, 1966 2 SheetsSheet 2INVENTORS BERNARD BERNSTEIN ROBERT V. SUCHMANN ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent M 3,484,864 COMBINED CONNECTOR AND RECTIFIER Bernard Bernstein,Brooklyn, and Robert V. Suchmann,

Bellrose, N.Y., assignors to General Instrument Corporation, Newark,N.J., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 588,143Int. Cl. H01l 3/00, /00

US. Cl. 317-234 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combinedconnector and rectifier assembly is designed for slip-on insertionbetween a pair of flexible AC supply leads having female terminals, anda pair of male terminals on an electrical device. The rectifier includesa plurality of rectifier cells which in one embodiment include fourstacks of selenium cells connected to form an electrical bridge for fullwave rectification. The connector includes a female terminal integrallyformed with a flat plate disposed between two of the cells, and anotherfemale terminal formed integrally with a flat plate disposed between twoother stacks of cells. The female terminals project from their plates inone direction and the male terminals project from their plates in anopposite direction.

This invention relates to rectifiers, and more particularly to compactfull wave rectifiers.

There are electrical devices which are operated by AC, but which wouldoperate bettter on DC. This is particularly true of a solenoid, whichmay tend to chatter or hum when operated by AC. A common example is thesolenoid operated water valves used widely in automatic clothes washersand dishwashers. The general object of the present invention is toovercome this difficulty, and to assure quiet positive operation, whichis done by using a locally rectified DC supply instead of an AC supply.

A further and more specific object is to provide a small, inexpensiverectifier which is easily applied to the solenoid by means of slip-onterminals. In accordance with a further feature and object, theterminals are N.E.M.A. quick-disconnect terminals which have beenstandardized, and are in wide use on such solenoid-operated watervalves. Still another object is to provide the desired DC connection atno cost other than the cost of the rectifier itself, this being readilyadded without change in the design or manufacture of the main appliance.Indeed, tte rectifier may be added readily to appliances which arealready in use.

To accomplish the foregoing general object, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in therectifier elements and their relation one to another, and to thesolenoid and AC supply terminals, as are hereinafter more particularlydescribed in the following specification. The specification isaccompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing how the rectifier is designedfor insertion between a pair of flexible AC supply leads, and a pair ofterminals on the electrical device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic elevation of the parts shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the parts of therectifier;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view drawn to larger scale and assembled, butnot yet in the housing;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view drawn to smaller scale and showing theassembly of FIG. 4 potted in its hous- 3,484,864 Patented Dec. 16, 1969FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the rectifier shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an electrical diagram showing how the parts act as a full waverectifier bridge.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2,rectangle 12 schematically represents a valve in a water line 14,typically in an automatic clothes washer or dishwasher. The valve 12 isoperated by a solenoid schematically represented by rectangle 16. Thesolenoid terminals are two flat metal blades 18, 20 which ordinarilyreceive female terminals 22, 24 at the ends of flexible wire leads 26,28 in the appliance.

In general, the power supply is AC and the solenoid 16 is supplied withAC through leads 26, 28 and terminals 22, 24, the latter being femaleterminals which are slid over the blade terminals 18, 20 with a snapfit. The terminals shown are N.E.M.A. quick-disconnect terminals, and inthe particular case shown, the blades 18, 20 are 0.25 inch wide and0.032 inch thick. The female terminals 22, 24 are essentially slip-onterminals, but in accordance with the N.E.M.A. standard, the partsengage with a snap fit.

With an AC supply there is a tendency to hum and chatter, but quietpositive action is obtained when using a DC supply. We have devised asmall full-wave selenium rectifier which is so designed as to easily fitbetween the terminals 18, 20 of the solenoid 16, and the terminals 22,24 of the flexible leads in the appliance. The rectifier housing 30contains rectifier cells, and has a pair of fixed female DC outputterminals 32, 34 which fit with the standard snap engagement on theblades 18, 20, and has a pair of male blades 36, 38 which receive theusual female terminals 22, 24 of the AC leads 26, 28 which wereoriginally intended to fit on the male terminals 18, 20 of the solenoid16.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the rectifier 30 is shown with thefemale terminals 32, 34 at one end, and the male terminals or blades 36,38 at the other end. The housing 30 is molded out of a suitable plasticsmaterial, in this case a plastic known commercially as Lexan, which is apolycarbonate plastic. The housing is open at one end, this being theupper end as viewed in FIG. 5, and it is closed at the other end exceptfor windows or slots 40 (FIG. 6) through which the blades 36, 38project. The housing is filled with a solid epoxy resin or pottingcompound 42, which is visible at the top of FIG. 5, and which alsoappears in the windows 40 of FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawing, the cells are flat seleniumcells which most simply are square in outline. There are four stacks ofcells marked 51, 52, 53, 54. Female terminals 32, 34 are each formedintegrally with a flat plate 56, 58 and the latter are disposed betweenstacks of cells in a manner which will be evident from inspection of thedrawing, the plate 56 being held directly between the stacks 51 and 54,and the plate 58 being held directly between the stacks 52 and 53.

One male terminal 38 is formed integrally with two plates 61, 62 whichare disposed at the outside of the adjacent two stacks 51, 52, and theother male terminal 36 is formed integrally with two plates 63, 64 whichare disposed against the outside of its adjacent two stacks 53, 54. Inthe position shown, the terminals 32, 34 project upward, and theterminals 36, 38 project downward. Terminal 36 is offset to the rightand is beneath plate 63, while terminal 38 is offset to the left and isbeneath plate 61.

The parts are held resiliently in face-to-face engagement by means ofspring clips 66 and 68, but in order not to short circuit the parts ofthe rectifier, bands of insulation 70, 72 are first slid around theassembly. More specifically, the band 70 is placed around the leftsubassembly of plate 61, stack 51, plate 56, stack 54 and plate 64, andthe second insulating band 72 is placed around the right handsub-assembly of plate 62, stack 52, plate 58, stack 53 and plate 63. Thespring clip 66 then is sprung around the left sub-assembly with itssleeve 70, and spring 68 is sprung around the right sub-assembly withits sleeve 72.

The insulating band is preferably made of a vinyl plastic which shrinkswhen heated, and it is dimensioned so that it is readily applied, butthen is subjected toheat to shrink the same tightly in position. Thisshrink sleeve helps hold the plates and stacks in face-to-face relation.

The internal assembly is shown in FIG. 4, the female terminals 32, 34being disposed in a common center plane between the pairs of stacks; theterminal plate 38 being disposed toward the left rear, and terminalplate 36 being disposed toward the right front. The drawing also showsthe insulating sleeves 70 and 72 in position around the left and righthand sub-assemblies respectively, with the spring clips 66 and 68 sprunginto position outside the insulating sleeves 70 and 72.

The assembly of FIG. 4 is then potted in the housing 30, as previouslydescribed.

. In FIG. 4 it will be seen that the male terminals 36, 38 are slightlyindented at 80. There is a similar indention on the opposite side, sothat the female terminal being slid thereon may be inverted without lossof the desired snap engagement. Each female terminal has a pair ofparallel slots 82, 84, leaving a strap of metal 86 therebetween. Thisstrap is indented on the outside to provide asmall projection 88 on theinside, the said projection mating with the indentation 80 on the maleterminal. These details are parts of and are standardized for theN.E.M.A. design for quick-disconnect terminals, and form nopart of thepresent invention except to the extent that the rectifier isspecifically designed to be applied directly to the male terminals 18,(FIGS. 1 and 2) of the solenoids 16, and to receive the female terminals22, 24 of the flexible leads 26, 28. Thus our device may be used by themanufacturer of the appliance without redesign of the appliance, andwithout cost other than the cost of the rectifier itself.

The way the parts form an electrical bridge is shown in FIG. 7, thefemale terminal 32 being connected between the stacks 51 and 54; thefemale terminal 34 being connected between the stacks 52 and 53; themale terminal 38 being connected between the stacks 51 and 52; and themale terminal 36 being connected between the stacks 53 and 54. As hereused, the male terminals 36, 38 act as AC input trminals, and the femaleterminals 32, 34

act as DC output terminals. The female terminals 32, 34

are connected to two opposite corners of the bridge, and the maleterminals 36, 38 are connected to the other two opposite corners of thebridge.

It should be noted that the female terminals are in a common plane. Thisis important because the blade terminals 18, 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of thesolenoid 16 are in a common plane. The male terminals 36, 38 of ourrectifier are not in a common plane, as will be seen in FIG. 6, but thisis fully acceptable because what these terminals receive are the femaletips or terminals 22, 24 (FIG. 1) at the ends of the two flexible leads26, 28.

In the particular rectifier here shown, each stack has five seleniumcells, but it will be understood that a different number may beemployed, and that they may be of different dimension and configurationthan here shown, while retaining the unique assembly or relationship ofparts here described. The separation of plate 61 from plate 62 (FIG. 3)and the separation of plate 63 from plate 64, is important in order toreceive the insulating sleeves 70 and 72 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The epoxy potted construction here illustrated is capable ofwithstanding continuous exposure to high humidity conditions, as in aclothes Washer or dishwasher cabinet.

It is believed that the construction, method of assembly, and method ofuse of our improved rectifier package, as

well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoingdetailed description. It wil also be apparent that while we have shownand described the invention in a preferred form, changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to bedefined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A rectifier assembly designed for slip-on insertion between a pair offlexible AC supply leads having female terminals, a pair of maleterminals on an electrical device adapted to receive the AC terminalsbut which it is desired to operate on DC, said rectifier comprising acase containing rectifier cells, a pair of fixed female DC outputterminals dimensioned and spaced to fit directly on the male terminalsof the aforesaid device, and a pair of male AC input terminalsdimensioned like those on the aforesaid device and thereby adapted toreceive the females terminals of the AC leads which were designed to fiton the male terminals of the device, in which there are four stacks ofselenium cells connected to form an electrical bridge for full waverectification, and the female terminals of the rectifier being connectedto two opposite corners of the bridge, and the male terminals of therectifier being connected to the other two opposite corners of thebridge.

2. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 1, in which one femaleterminal of the rectifier assembly is formed integrally with a flatplate which is disposed directly between two of the stacks of cells, andthe other female terminal is formed integrally with a flat plate whichis disposed directly between the remaining two stacks of cells, one maleterminal formed integrally with two plates which are disposed at theoutside of the other two stacks.

3. A rectifier assembly as defined in caim 2, in which the femaleterminals project from their integral plates in one direction, and themale terminals project from their integral plates in opposite direction,one male terminal being offset to project from one of its two plates,and the other male terminal being oppositely offset to project from theother of its two plates.

4. A rectifier assemb'y as defined in claim 3, in which an insulatingmember is disposed on each sub-assembly of male plate, stack, femaleplate, stack, and male plate, arranged in the recited order, and inwhich a spring clip is disposed around each insulating member and is sodimensioned as to hold said plates and stacks in snug-faceto-faceengagement.

5. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 3, in which there is a spacebetween two integral plates of each male terminal, and in which aninsulating sleeve is disposed around each sub-assembly of male plate,stack, female plate, stack, and male plate, arranged in the recitedorder, and in which said sleeve fits tightly around the subassembly andhelps to hold the said plates and stacks in snug face-to-face engagement6. A rectifier assembly designed for slip-on insertion etween a pair offlexible AC supply leads having female terminals, and a pair of maleterminals on an electrical device adapted to receive the AC terminalsbut which it is desired to operate on DC, said rectifier comprising acase containing rectifier cells, a pair of fixed female DC outputterminals dimensioned and spaced to fit directly on the male terminalsof the aforesaid device, and a pair of male AC input terminalsdimensioned like those on the aforesaid device and thereby adapted toreceive the female terminals of the AC leads which were designed to fiton the male terminals of the device, in which the electrical device isthe solenoid of a solenoid operated water valve, and in which there arefour stacks of selenium cells connected to form an electrical bridge forfull wave rectifications, the female terminals of the rectifier beingconnected to two opposite corners of the bridge, and male terminals ofthe rectifier being connected to the other two of said corners of thebridge, and in which one female terminal of the rectifier assembly isformed integrally with a fiat plate which is disposed directly betweentwo of the stacks of cells, and the other female terminal is formedintegrally with a fiat plate which is disposed directly between theremaining two stacks of cells, one male terminal being'formed'integral-1y with two plates which are disposed at the outside of two ofthe,stacks, and the other male terminal being formed integrally with twoplates which are disposed at the outside of the other two stacks.

7. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 6, in which the femaleterminals project from their integral plates in one direction, and themale terminals project from their integral plate in opposite direction,one male terminal being offset to project from one of its two plates,and the other male terminal being oppositely offset to project from theother of its two plates. 4

8. A rectifier assembly as defined inclaim 6, in which an insulatingmember is disposed on each sub-assembly of male plate, stack, femaleplate, stack, and male plate, arranged in the recited order, and inwhich a spring clip is disposed around each insulating member and is sodimensioned; as to hold said plates and stacks in snugface-to-faceengagement.

9. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 6, in which there is a spacebetween the two integral plates of each male terminal, and in which aninsulating sle'eve is disposed around each sub-assembly of male plate,stack, female plate; stack and male plate, arranged in the'recitedorder, and in which said sleeve fits tightly around the sub-assembly andhelps to hold the said plates and stacks in snug face-to-faceengagement.

10. A rectifier assembly designed for slip-on insertion between a pairof flexible AC supply leads having female terminals, and a pair of maleterminals on an electrical device adapted to receive the AC terminalsbut which it is desired to operate on DC, said rectifier comprising acase containing rectifier cells, a pair of fixed female DC outputterminals dimensioned and spaced to fit directly on the maleterminals ofthe aforesaid device, andv a pair of male AC input terminals dimensionedlike those on the aforesaid device and thereby adapted to receive thefemale terminals of the AC leads which were designed to fit on the maleterminals of the device, in which one female terminal of the rectifierassembly is formed integrally with a flat plate which is disposeddirectly between two stacks of cells, and the other female terminal isformed integrally with a fiat plate which is disposed directly betweentwo other stacks of cells, one male terminal being formed integrallywith two plates which are disposed at the outside of two stacks, and theother male terminal being formed integrally with two plates which aredisposed at the outside of the other two stacks.

11. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 10, in which the femaleterminals project from their integral plates in one direction, and themale terminals project from their integral plates in opposite direction,one male terminal being offset to project from one of its two plates,and the other male terminal being oppositely offset to project from theother of its two plates.

12. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 10, in which an insulatingmember is disposed on each subassembly of male plate, stack, femaleplate, stack, and male plate, arranged in the recited order, and inwhich a spring clip is disposed around each insulating member and is sodimensioned as to hold said plates and stacks in snug face-to-faceengagement.

13. A rectifier assembly as defined in claim 10, in which there is aspace between the two integral plates of each male terminal, and inwhich an insulating sleeve is disposed around each sub-assembly of maleplate, stack, female plate, stack and male plate, arranged in therecited order, and in which said sleeve fits tightly around thesub-assembly and helps to hold the said plates and stacks in snugface-to-face engagement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,491,031 12/ 1949 Burgess317--234 X 3,034,000 5/1962 Todd 339154 X 3,047,773 7/1962 Morton 339166X 3,165,678 1/ 1965 Bernstein 3 1 7234 3,201,617 8/1965 Pacoroni et a1.307-146 3,360,708 12/1967 Persen 339154 X JOHN W. HUCKERT, PrimaryExaminer R. F. POLISSACK, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

